Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Some *really* down to earth sewing--cloth napkins. We've been running low so I bought enough of this cheery print to make fifteen. That's a lot of little hems to press and then stitch, so I did it in very short sessions. After a week, they were all done.

Monday, August 14, 2017

Having downloaded the pattern, I'm trying out this Alabama Chanin wrap dress. The instructions are over-optimistically sketchy, I think, especially for that bust dart. It can be hard to get the corner point to lie nice and smooth. But we shall see.

I'm on my second go-round, since my printer actually gave me a slightly shrunken version of the pattern. My usual size was a little dainty. Currently trying again.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

I accidentally checked out a library book on making your own bath and body products. It's called Little House Living and it's by Merissa Alink. I figured it was a decorating book but it's all about the magic of making these awesome things at home.

After reading some recipes, I realized I had most of the ingredients at hand, and I dove in. I made an eczema salve and sent it home with Felix whose skin is sensitive to the dust of gardening and home renovation. Still waiting for some feedback on that one. I do know that the moisturizing lotion I made for myself is the most effective skin treatment I've ever used. My skin feels like a baby's!

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

To prepare the carnitas before church, right after breakfast I diced a good-sized pork loin into stew-meat sized chunks. Put them in the pressure cooker in a single layer with plenty of salt, pepper, and cumin, and browned them. Added a little water and sealed it up. About ten minutes at 15 pounds, and they were deliciously tender, and still had their brown crust on them. These went into the fridge until after church, and were reheated at lunchtime.

Monday, July 24, 2017

A big batch of stewed tomatoes made from a big garden haul. I had enough tomatoes for about 10 pints--it was two big colanders full. I used two bags of Cajun-style mirepoix, which got sauteed in olive oil. I peeled and quartered my tomatoes, then added them to my veggies to stew with two teaspoons each of salt and sugar.

Then I canned them, which made me very proud. They are the best soup base ever.

Friday, July 21, 2017

We're in the dog days of summer now, and the cats are spending much of their time indoors in the air conditioning. We do our gardening very early or very late, and we swim at least once a day. A month of summer life left before school things kick in.

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Cobbler for our Sunday dinner crowd this week was peaches and blackberries. Biscuit topping was added moments after this photo was taken.

Always remember: heat your fruit on the stovetop (with a little sugar and a little flour) until it starts to release its juices and the juice starts to thicken. *Then* you can put it in the baking pan and put the biscuits on top, ready to go in the oven.

Friday, July 14, 2017

Daisy's got some sophisticated taste in birthday cakes now--this is Nigella Lawson's Christmas-Spiced Flourless Chocolate Cake with a glazed almond and fresh orange juice topping. I sent pieces home with Elliot and Emma to the Stone House. "Eat it when you can concentrate."

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

I typically find myself feeling quite domestic in July. The summer heat starts to keep us more indoors, the rush of school and early-summer travel is over, and somehow I just want to clean and rearrange.

This week I mixed it up in the living room, moving furniture that hadn't been shifted in years! Well, we move it out for special events, but then we put it back in the same place. This time, I decided that during the summer, our seating should be focused around the front windows, rather than the woodstove. This has never happened at the Schoolhouse before.

But we all love it, and I'm especially loving my new view as I come down the hallway (see above). The whole room seems larger and more full of greenery.

I've also been deep-cleaning my room--washing quilts, curtains, rugs, windows, flowerpots, polishing silver, rearranging the dresser, and all that . . . . also Daisy is at band camp AND turning thirteen, so I need some distraction.

Friday, July 07, 2017

My step-mother passed a big bag of sewing goodies to me which had belonged to her late mother. I found quite a few new-in-the-package sewing kits--embroidery and crewel work.

The crewel work--it is what it is: harvest gold mushrooms and olive green flowers. Clara may work them up for fun some day.

I appreciate the nice quality of some of the printed projects--these guest towels are on 100% linen, fun and mindless to cross-stitch. And they fit in my purse. I brought them into this decade by throwing out the bright color choices, and doing them in a monochromatic pale seafoam green.

Wednesday, July 05, 2017

You know how the last 10% of any project can be the hardest to get done? We're still working to finish out the Stone House study and a couple of projects in the Stone House kitchen.

I have an enchanting vision of built-in white bookshelves and a desk surface for the gorgeous dark green study. And the bookshelves are finally getting done! But there's nowhere in the Stone House to paint them, so they're taking up my sitting room for part of the week.

Monday, July 03, 2017

I've made a handful of the Alabama Chanin ponchos--they're the simplest thing you could ever sew, and they are nice! Useful!

But I'm not a huge fan of asymmetry and I don't want to have to be constantly monitoring accessory placement. So I tweaked the design and put the seam in a new spot (and stenciled it with a little bit of the Magdalena stencil):

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Daisy's new rabbit barn sits nicely tucked into an unused corner of the yard behind the fig tree, and right beside the vegetable garden.

The Composer did a great design job, using inexpensive hardware store materials in a way that's actually quite elegant--see the "skylight" panel inset into the metal roof. Next up, the rows of cages for the rabbits.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Monday, June 19, 2017

Mid-afternoon in mid-June. A day full of work, laundry, errands, and hospitality.

I've moved my work computer upstairs into the Composer's studio and can't tell if I love or hate being out of the thick of things.

I can concentrate, and there are no parrot squawks to apologize for when I'm on the phone, but on the other hand, what's going on downstairs without me? Is the laundry ready to turn over? I'm so far from the coffee! Does a cat need in?

Monday, June 05, 2017

After dinner the Composer and I drove over to The Meadows (Felix's house) to deliver that lucky boy a load of goat manure.

Marriage certainly changes people. Felix has become a super-gardener, and Molly, who grew up in New York and its surroundings, has started carrying a pocketknife so she can cut flowers whenever necessary.

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Photography

Photography is an important part of life at my house. Photos that appear here are taken by Giles, by the Composer, and by me. Giles is a real, paid photographer, and he uses a Sony Alpha. Most of the photography prior to September 2008 is his. Since then I have done most of the shooting and I use a Konica Minolta. Additionally, the Composer offers me nice shots on occasion, often from his little Canon point and shoot. I've given up trying to note who's done what. Thanks for your interest!